Nanao's Story
by AADale
Summary: Hollows can do a lot of damage before the heroes arrive.  T for sadnesss - this one isn't for kids.


Nanao's Story

Hollows can do a lot of damage before the heroes arrive. T for sadnesss - this one isn't for kids.

Disclaimer - I own nothin'.

/

This was no ordinary patrol; that much was obvious from the beginning. They'd been sent out at short notice and were being led by the lieutenant herself. And they never patrolled this far out from Seireitei, in the wooded mountains deep in East Rukongai. When they asked her what was going on, she sternly replied that every mission should be taken seriously. Her evasiveness put them even more on the edge. Even so, they weren't prepared for what they saw when they reached the first town that had been hit.

It was a small farming village. It had had about a hundred residents until a few days ago. The village wasn't simply attacked; it was shattered. It looked as if it had been picked up and smashed on the ground like some child's toy – bodies, buildings, trees scattered. Possibly a tornado could do such a thing, but it would have left some things standing in its wake. This destruction wasn't random. Every single thing had been destroyed. It was a Hollow, obviously, but one more powerful than they'd seen in this part of Rukongai in a long time.

About an hour later, the squad found the second village. The same level of destruction. There was no point in looking for survivors. Suddenly they felt the shock wave of an explosion. They could see a fire blast halfway up the next mountain peak. The valley between them rumbled with the sounds of destruction. Whatever was doing this damage was there, right now.

It was a race, and one figure flew out ahead of the rest of the squad, a slim dark-haired woman. The others followed as quickly as they could, although they knew they'd only arrive in time for cleanup and, they could only hope, medical treatment for the surviving residents.

Lisa tried to survey the scene as she got closer. This town was larger than the others, but the smoke and debris in the air made it difficult to tell much more.

Lieutenant Yadomaru finally arrived at the southern edge of the village. Several small fires burned. The splinters of dozens of houses and shops littered the central road. Only one building was left standing, a small house on the south end. But there was no Hollow visible in the area.

Had she missed it? Lisa felt for the spiritual pressure. No, it hadn't fled yet. It was still here. It felt close –

She dropped face-down to the ground, pivoting her sword upward so the point extended into the air beside her. She felt the impact of the creature as it slammed down on her back, impaling itself on her zanpakuto. She couldn't see it, but could feel that it was huge. It screamed in pain, continuing to press down on her, crushing her. It took all her strength to twist the blade. The pain was finally too much for the Hollow, and it jumped clear. The sword jerked from her hand.

She rolled over and saw the Hollow, barely ten feet away from her. It was a pale green color with a bone head and a body like a bear's, but at least three times the size, even larger than she had expected. Smoke was emerging from its mouth. It was standing on four legs, barely able to put weight on its left front paw. Her blade still stuck from its left shoulder. A serious wound, but no amount of body damage would be enough to kill a massively-muscled creature like this, she knew. This would require a head shot. She had lost her sword, and the head was fifteen feet above her, and she had no strength to jump.

She incanted hado four, a weak spell, but at this close range it was enough to knock the right front paw of the Hollow backward. It slipped, its body crashing down. Suddenly her sword was within her grasp, and she pulled it from his shoulder and whisked off his head. It dissipated into ashes before her.

She brushed the dust off her and adjusted her glasses. She wouldn't let herself wince in pain, even though no one else was around.

She turned toward the one remaining building. "There's something", she murmured to herself, and walked toward the house. There were two bodies lying near the front door. They must have been running toward the building when the Hollow hit.

It was a plain, single room dwelling, but she didn't have time to take it in. As she entered, her eyes were immediately drawn to the little girl crouched down against the back wall. The child was shaking, crying. Lisa was riveted by the girl's appearance: she looked so much like Lisa herself at that age that it was eerie. Lisa had never claimed to have a motherly instinct, but the sight of this child weeping in fear, staring through the door at the deceased couple who were undoubtedly her parents, was just too much to bear. Lisa walked over to her and knelt down beside her.

"What's your name?" Lisa asked.

The girl kept her wide eyes on the bodies. "We have chickens. We have chickens, and my dad cuts their heads off and we eat them. That's what happened, right? The monster – my mom and dad are dead, aren't they?"

"Don't look at that. I tell you what", Lisa said, as she lifted up the tiny thing. "Let's go out this way."

"I don't want to go outside. The monster is out there."

The lieutenant rubbed the girl's head. "Don't worry. The monster is gone."

Lisa carried the child to the open window and carefully passed her through.

"Are you ok?"

"Yes, ma'am", said the girl, and Lisa let her go.

Lisa jumped through the window too. It was a bad move – she must have broken half the ribs on her right side during that fight. She asked the girl, "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm still scared though. Are you sure it's gone?"

The rest of the squad began to arrive.

Lisa walked the child around to the back of the house, where she couldn't see the carnage. She knelt down again and held her, despite the pain it caused. She looked up and down the length of the village. Only one building had survived. This girl was an orphan; everything she had ever known was destroyed by that Hollow. As Lisa held the girl, she promised herself that she couldn't let her go, ever.

"My name's Lisa. What's your name?"

"I'm Nanao. I live here."

"Well, I'm pleased to meet you, Nanao."

Lisa pulled back a bit so she could shake hands with the child. As she did, she sensed something odd.

"Nanao, I'm pleased to meet you. May I kiss your hand?"

Lisa took the child's hand and pressed her lips against it. Kido. The smell was unmistakable. How? This girl must have power. This terrified little girl had heard the attack and seen her parents killed, and then must have instinctively bound the house. That's how she had survived. The child didn't have much spiritual pressure, at least not yet, but to have been able to endure the onslaught of that Hollow, without even knowing words of incantation, well, she was something special.

"Nanao, I know this has been a really scary day. But you don't have to worry about monsters. My friends and I are fighters, and we protect people from monsters. And I think that you're a brave little girl, and some day you're going to help protect people too. Do you know your numbers?"

"Yes."

"Well, we're called Division Eight. We all wear eights on our clothes, see? And I think you're so brave that you should come with us, and we can give you a robe with an eight on it, and you can be an officer in our division. Daiki over there is a really good cook. And we live in a big building and we can find a bed for you, and I'll come by whenever I can and read you stories. But it'll be serious work. You're going to have to learn to read, and do chores, and learn tricks that we call kido, but I've got a feeling that you're going to be really good at them. Does that sound ok?"

"I guess so."

"I mean, you don't have any other family in another village who's going to worry about you, do you?"

"No", she sniffed.

"OK, it's settled. But only if you're going to be serious about it. Do you promise to do your best?"

She clenched her chin into a serious face. "Yes, ma'am."

Lisa carried her away. A stray spark had hit the roof of the house, and the last building in the village had ignited. The officers were scrambling for buckets, but Lisa waved them to stop. "Let it burn", he said. "There's nothing else in this town worth saving." With that, they headed back to Seireitei.


End file.
